Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran who ruled over the Islamic Republic for more than three decades as it faced off with the West, was killed Saturday after the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran.

Iranian media on Sunday confirmed the death, saying Khamenei was killed in his office compound and that there will be 40 days of national mourning.

This comes as three US service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, CENTCOM says in an X post.

On today's show, Bloomberg This Weekend hosts David Gura and Christina Ruffini speak with:

- Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, who says he was briefed on plans for the attack on Iran and that President Trump had been considering several options.

- Democratic Representative Jason Crow of Colorado, on Democrats in Congress expecting to force a war powers vote this week.

- Republican Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, who says the Iranian people will have a chance to take back their country.

- Hagar Chemali, Former US Mission to the UN, Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Jeff Mason, and Co-Anchor of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power" Joe Mathieu on what might happen next amid protests in Iran.

For more conversations like this, watch and listen to Bloomberg This Weekend live on Saturdays and Sundays from 7AM-10AM ET. Watch on Bloomberg Television, listen on Bloomberg Radio and stream the show live on the Bloomberg Business app and Bloomberg.com/video.

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Iran’s supreme leader was killed in US–Israeli airstrikes, a seismic development in a conflict that’s spread to half a dozen countries across the Middle East and threatens to disrupt energy flows. For details, and suggestions of what happens next, 'Bloomberg This Weekend' hosts David Gura and Christina Ruffini speak with Bloomberg anchor Joumanna Bercetche in Dubai, Bloomberg Israel bureau chief Ethan Bronner in Tel Aviv and Nancy Youssef, a staff writer at The Atlantic.

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The US and Israel began striking targets across Iran, with President Donald Trump urging Iranians to overthrow the government in a conflict that threatens to spiral across the oil-rich Middle East.

“The hour for your freedom is at hand,” Trump said, addressing Iranians in a video posted on Truth Social on Saturday. “When we’re finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

The military campaign could be a defining moment for Trump, risking a drawn-out regional war that leads to a surge in energy prices and American casualties ahead of mid-term elections this year. Iran quickly responded by firing missiles on Israel and US bases around the region, and countries in the Persian Gulf closed their airspace.

Israel’s military said the campaign would target “dozens of military targets,” and Iran media reported strikes on defensive and civilian sites, including more than 50 people dead in a strike on a school in Hormozgan, in the south of the country. Several large explosions were reported in the capital, Tehran.
Bloomberg's David Gura and Christina Ruffini lead our team coverage in this instant reaction podcast.

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